Review: ‘Runners’

There are a lot of interesting ideas in Runners, but they're never really shaped into a coherent film. It's evident that directing Brideshead Revisited , the rambling TV series with which helmer Charles Sturridge secured international acclaim, was not the best education in cinematic structure.

There are a lot of interesting ideas in Runners, but they’re never really shaped into a coherent film. It’s evident that directing Brideshead Revisited , the rambling TV series with which helmer Charles Sturridge secured international acclaim, was not the best education in cinematic structure.

The meandering plot follows a father, played by James Fox, who searches for his daughter long after everyone else, including his wife, have given up. Tracking her down to a car hire firm, rather than some perverse religious sect as he had expected, he is horrified at her reluctance to return.

Along the way, the father strikes up with a woman from a different social class who is hunting for her son. There are some interesting nuances in this relationship, but eventually it is the trival details of the hunt that dominate the screen.

One is two thirds of the way through the film before the question is even raised of why this girl fled. Fox and Jane Asher give as much to the roles as they can.